any ideas from your experience

oh dear, i am so sory to her of your problems, it puts mine in perspective. the one thing that should be done for you a least is a referral to your local pain clinic they have so many options , something must help. as for a fusion i have been told that it may work in the short term but as with all things it is short term. as it releives the pressure on one vertebrae , it then puts it on the next . if that makes any sense. any way good luck and keep us informed of how you are doing.

Hiya Foxy

As Chris says, ask your GP to refer you to a pain clinic.

Have you been prescribed Amitriptyline? I find it very good for CS nerve pain.

Try some heat Foxy, unfortunately there is no silver bullet for a remedy for this condition.

You sound pretty much like my brother, who's op failed, he takes a battery of meds but suffers horrendously on a daily basis, but makes the most of his days as and when he can.

Acceptance of a condition can really go some way to helping. Sorry I don't mean to preach, but I do know what this thing does to each and everyone of us, and although I am now pretty well pain free, I will never forget what it has done to me, and will continue to do.

Take care Foxy, stay in touch

Emxx

thanks for your replies, i have tried amitryptaline, that made me very anxious, i know i should accept my condition, problem is my age wont let me, there are so many things i want to do but cant , i will take the advice and visit my pain clinic, i dont know if its just me but people that havnt got it dont really understand what it does to you, will keep my chin up tho, but even doin that hurts lol, many thanks will keep you posted, have got appt with my consultant on friday, 24th april, will post as to the outcome, thanks again :wink:

Hey Foxy

Forgot to mention, get a memory foam mattress topper, takes the pressure off your body, I wouldn't do without mine now, I also have a cervical pillow, which has helped too this thing costs a fortune, but, (anything that helps) and as you quite rightly point out getting through to people can be difficult and annoying, I tell people that I have arthritis in my spine, at least they understand arthritis :roll:

How did you take the Ami, Foxy ? At night?

Apologies for being nosy, but I'm female :lol:

Good luck with the doc and let us know the outcome.

Take Care

Emxx

BTW, there are some excellent links from this page, on this condition.

the ami was in tablet form, i took them at night b4 bed, hated them, found it quite difficult to get off them too, i later heard they were sometimes used as an anti depressant, i must admit i did feel mentally fitter but physically no good, i do get very depressed at times now, when i think 6 years ago i was climbing ben nevis and i also hiked the entire length of the south west coast path, covering 95miles in five day periods, with 72lb in weight on my back! iv got a right to be sad now :cry: maybe 1 more disc replacement and a bit of decent physio will do it, fingers crossed, maybe il just have 2 learn to be a little less active from here on in, perhaps il become a politician or summat equally useless :lol: will keep u informed what happens friday, tukf xx :love:

hi all, had a great day at the royal berks hospital today!!!!!!!! my consultant has decided to attempt a further nerve root block at c6c7, i am having this done within two weeks, he also suggests that i may have a new osteophite which is pushing down on my nerve, this will be proved or disproved after a further ct scan, i have not been prescribed any further painkillers as they just dont seem to work on me, pain is at an all time high today, couldnt afford the bus so i had to walk the six mile round trip! on a more positive note i have had an xray and already been to the pre-op assesment clinic today, just waiting for the letter with the nr block appointment. i have included an image of my last nerve root block for you to peruse over, would dearly love to get drunk and take the pain away but sadly im skint :cry: in the image you will see a long thin line above the crease in the picture this is the needle, ouch

i dont know how you do it, to walk for 6 miles there and back when you are in such pain. i suppose if you need answers you will go through anything. did you ask about the pain clinic, tramadol isnt where it stops , i am on oxycontin 40mg daily, it was 80mg but i cut myself down ( i had put on a lot of weight and was almost a zombie). have you noticed that how you feel changes with the temperature.

i did ask and they told me that gabapentin is something that is being used in america quite frequently, its a nerve drug, im willing to give anything a go right now, it was hard walking to the hospital, unfortunately when your on incapacity benefit £105 per week doesnt stretch very far, food and electric have to come first! took some tramadol before i left tho :wink: did you notice the image i sent last time? thats me. how are you getting on?

hi again , i have taken gabapentin it is an epeleptic drug which works wonders the only thing is it works like steroids and you tend to pile on the weight. in the end i was on 4 times 3/300mg tabs, 3,600mg daily. i am on incapacity and if i cant make it i dont go, if the pain is too much. there is also a drug called oxynorm which is a breakthrough drug.have you tried acupuncture or massage treatment.

have tried massage, the physio at my local hospital does wonders, it doesnt last long, but it does feel great at the time, accupuncture? hadnt thought of that, will ask my gp if he can look into it, do you ever get pain going right across your wrist, iv just started to notice it.. ade